Einsiedeln Monastery:A World of its Own

2007 Elections:Truly Historic

Micheline Calmy-Rey:The Highlights of her Year

T H E M A G A Z I N E F O R T H E S W I S S A B R O A D

DECEMBER 2007 / NO. 6

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www.revue.chWe look forward to your online visit.

Swiss politics are rarely mentioned in the foreign media. The goings-on in the Federal Parliament are usually far too mundane to raise any interest abroad. This isn’t helped by the fact that the mechanism of our system of direct demo-

cracy is diffi cult for outsiders to grasp. Indeed many foreign journalists fail to compre-hend how our seven-member government can consist of representatives from four dif-ferent political parties, that we hold referenda and that true power lies with the Swiss people themselves.

As a result, Switzerland is generally only written about on the business and culture pages or, ever since Roger Federer started making waves, under sport. Even our federal elections have largely been ignored abroad up to now. After all, we neither elect a char-ismatic president nor bring left- or right-wing parliamentary majorities to power. Polit-ical life in Switzerland is simply so stable that it’s boring for outsiders.

This time round things were rather different for once. Never before have the media in Frankfurt, London, New York and elsewhere reported so extensively about Swiss politics. And what would a review of the world’s press have us believe? The international media described a racist, egotistical and divided country. For instance, the Washington Post ran a piece under the headline “Swiss Fury at Foreigners Boiling Over”. Spiegel Online in Germany knew we were a “Democracy on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown”. And the Independent newspaper in England fretted on its front page that Switzerland had become “Europe’s Heart of Darkness”.

It is traditional in the run-up to an election for current or former members of the Federal Council who have studied the international press to publicly voice concerns about Switzerland’s image abroad and even worry that negative reporting could turn investors away from Switzerland.

But this will not be the case. Even after the most expensive, emptiest, and bitterest election campaign of all times, Switzerland is neither racist nor xenophobic, and it still

isn’t run by the SVP and Christoph Blocher alone, no matter what the foreign media try to sell their readers. “Our system is weather-proof,” said legendary former SP leader Helmut Hubacher. For-eign reporting of Switzerland this election year was extremely one-sided, subjective and far from the truth. That’s rather a shame. The Swiss political system deserves to be treated in a more differenti-ated and thorough way, even in the foreign media.

As we went to press, the new Parliament hadn’t yet decided whether or not to confi rm the present seat allocation in the Federal Council. The Fed-eral Council election won’t take place until 12 December. Both www.aso.ch and www.swis-sinfo.org will provide regular updates on the eagerly-awaited outcome.

The editorial team of the Swiss Review would like to thank you for the interest you have taken in our work, and wishes you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

HEINZ EC KER T, EDIT OR-IN-C HIEF

E D I T O R I A L C O N T E N T S

Heinz Eckert

5Mailbag

5Books: Music from French-speaking Switzerland

6A Christmas journey on the tram

7Images: Eduard Spelterini: Photographer and pioneering balloonist

8Einsiedeln Abbey: A glance inside the monastery

12Notes from Parliament

14Federal elections 2007

15Election summary: Truly historic

16OSA news

18Interview: Federal PresidentMicheline Calmy-Rey

19News in brief

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Cover:

Angel fi gure in front of Einsiedeln Monastery church

Photo: Keystone

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A weatherproof system

IMPRINT : “Swiss Review”, the magazine for the Swiss abroad, is in its 34rd year of publication and is published in German, French, Italian, English and Spanish in 21 regional editions. It has a total circulation of 400 000. Regional news appears four times a year.■ EDIT ORS: Heinz Eckert (EC), Editor-in-Chief; Rolf Ribi (RR), René Lenzin (RL), Alain Wey (AW), Gabriela Brodbeck (BDK), responsible for DFA information pages, Service for the Swiss Abroad, DFA, CH-3003 Berne Translation: CLS Communication AG ■ POS TAL ADDRESS: Publisher, editorial offi ce, advertising: Organisation of the Swiss Abroad, Alpenstrasse 26, CH-3006 Berne, Tel.: +4131356 6110, Fax: +4131356 61 01, Postal account (Swiss National Giro): 30-6768-9. Internet: www.revue.ch ■ E - M A I L : revue@aso.ch ■ PRINT: Zollikofer AG, CH-9001 St.Gallen. ■ C HANGE OF ADDRESS: Please advise your local embassy or consulate. Do not write to Berne. Single copy: CHF 5 ■

“XENOPHOBIA: Switzerland Criticised Abroad. Everyone’s plotting against us!”The cartoonist Chappatte in “NZZ”

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Leave a lasting legacy behind Do something for our compatriotsabroad

A legacy or bequest allows you to leave instructions on the disposalof your money, real estate or property*. A bequest to the OSA is anenduring reminder of your solidarity with our compatriots abroad.The Organisation for the Swiss Abroad uses all such funds to assistSwiss Abroad in accordance with the testator’s instructions.

*To do this you need to draw up a will. The OSA offers an informative, easy-to-understandbrochure on how to draw up a will: Contact the OSA Legal Service, "Rechtsdienst der ASO",

Help us to help you!Alpenstrasse 26, CH-3006 Berne or e-mail info@aso.ch

5M A I L B A G B O O K S

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La Welsch Music. Odd as it may seem, this rather Swiss German title belongs to a book about the music scene in French-speaking Switzerland written in German. Penned by journalist Dieter Kohler, “La Welsch Music” offers a substantial overview of the most popular mu-sicians of western Switzerland, where the author spent fi ve years as a correspondent for Swiss Radio DRS. Thir-teen extensive portraits present male and female art-ists of every conceivable musical persuasion, from chanson through pop to hip-hop, including the likes of K, Jérémie Kisling, Stress, Simon Gerber, Gustav, Sar-clo, Bel Hubert and Polar. Brief portraits of a further 30 artists complete the overall picture. Although Dieter Kohler focuses primarily on chansonniers and hip-hop artists, his own preferences are clearly rock-

related. He even describes Favez from Lausanne as Switzer-land’s best rock band! Of particular interest is the presenta-tion of the energetic and original Fribourg-based singer Gustav. His speciality: just like Stephan Eicher, he sings in both Swiss German and French. For all the rock, folk, reggae

and Latin musicians in the book, Gus-tav is probably the most typically Swiss of all the artists presented. And as be-fi ts a book about music, it is accompa-nied by a CD containing examples of the works of the extensively presented musicians.

La Welsch Music, Chanson, Pop und Rap aus der Westschweiz, by Dieter Kohler, published by Christoph Merian, Basel, 2006.

Happy birthday, Petzi! Did you say Petzi? What’s that? Surely not that adventurous little bear from children’s comic books! If not exactly him, www.petzi.ch is all about a talent for improvisation and an openness to novelty. www.petzi.ch is the Web site of the PETZI association, the umbrella organ-isation of Swiss music clubs, which represents the so-called “alternative” music venues in Switzerland, of which there are no fewer than 60. It is this Petzi that has just celebrated its 10th anniversary. www.petzi.ch is more than an exten-sive source of information for night owls hunting for select concerts. It also sells tickets for upcoming events. Music fans are therefore never more than a few clicks away from details of who’s playing at which of the up to 700-seater venues on a given date. Don’t forget that all the bands now selling mil-lions of CDs started out by playing on small stages like that of the Fri-Son in Fribourg or the Rote Fabrik in Zurich. And ask any die-hard fan whether the best concert by his favour-ite group was held in a mega-stadium or a small club, and the answer is more than likely to be the latter. These venues are just as open to internationally renowned bands as they are to popular local artists, and provide backing and act as a breeding ground for newly developing musical trends. At the same time, www.petzi.ch forms a kind of bridge between the different clubs, thus enabling joint projects to be organised and run. As such it is not just a source of new sounds, but also of opportunities and new ideas. AL AIN WEY

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Fair and right?

It was with great inter-est that I read the last issue of the “Swiss Review” dedicated entirely to the elec-tions. The infl uence of the Fifth Switzerland was dis-cussed, and you raised the ques-tion of whether expatriate Swiss citizens would soon be sitting on the National Council. However, one aspect of the debate was overlooked: is it fair and right for the composition of the govern-ment to be chosen in part by peo-ple living outside its sphere of in-fl uence, when at the same time more than 20% of the population of Switzerland are denied this right simply because they do not belong to the exclusive club of Swiss citizens? Surely it runs counter to democratic ideals if people like myself, who have lived on the other side of the world for years (and others who have never resided in Switzerland), have a say in shaping events in a faraway, albeit beloved, country, while large sections of the domestic population have no right to determine their own future. ANDREAS BÜRKI, SEOUL,

REPUBLIC OF KOREA

Army knives

I was appalled to read your article about Swiss army knives. It’s unthinkable for a Swiss soldier to have to carry a knife made in China. Whatever happened to Swiss pride? Will Swiss chocolate and Swiss cheese soon also be made in China? How could Swit-zerland sell out in this way?BETT Y JUC KER, Y OKN AM, ISRAEL

Expatriate Candidates

I value the “Swiss Review” as a refreshing and concise source on current issues back home. Your last edition surprised me: all three of the “expatriate candidates” listed with their picture are mem-bers of the SVP. In addition the SVP occupies an attractive slot

for publicity on the last page of the jour-nal, whereas all other parties are squished together on some mid-dle page. A few weeks before important elec-

tions this could be interpreted as a manipulation of voting citizens and you should take great care not to favor any party, particu-larly the one that is viewed from the outside as divisive and xeno-phobic among others.GEORG EHRET, BROADWAY, US A

Editor’s note: The three SVP candidates were presented in detail because they are members of the Council of the Swiss Abroad. All the political parties were free to place ads.

Low level

Although my family and I have been living in the Dominican Re-public for the past four years, I still take an avid interest in what is happening back in my home-land. Apart from the “Swiss Re-view”, whose layout and content I commend you for, I regularly read “swissinfo”, the “NZZ” and the “Tages-Anzeiger” online. As in Switzerland, there will soon be elections here too, and I couldn’t help noticing that the expensive election campaigns of the major parties in both countries have reached more or less the same (low) level, with the Helvetic style aligning itself with the Latin American one rather than the other way round. Instead of of-fering solutions to the now truly unmistakeable problems (the environment, social welfare, the integration of foreigners, fi scal justice, equal opportunities, etc.), the electioneering has degenerated into mud-slinging and doesn’t even shy away from denigrating or making false accu-sations about individual candi-dates, male and female alike. HANS PETER SOL ARI, HIGÜEY,

DOMINIC AN REPUBLIC

6 A C H R I S T M A S T A L E

A Christmas JourneyBY -MINU

tram driver hans wagner had volunteered to work on

christmas eve even though Charlotte had bombarded him with accusations. “That’s great!” she had cried. “I get to feed the whole family and you just swan off!”

It was dark already. Wagner crouched in his cab, wondering why families gathered together on Christmas Eve when they knew it would end in an argument. Ilse, his sister-in-law, had made a few cutting remarks about tram drivers’ pay the moment she had arrived, and bragged about her Caribbean cruise, while his mother-in-law had snarled at him, “Well, they can afford that sort of thing.”

He’d have loved to have treated Charlotte to a cruise. The three chil-dren brought her more than her fair share of stress. But grade 16 wages only just brought him enough for the pres-sure cooker she had asked for.

Wagner peered into the rear-view mirror. Ever since the last-minute rush at around 5pm, the city had been vir-tually deserted. The fi rst Christmas trees were being lit in the suburbs. His tram was almost empty.

All that remained was the old man in the fur-collared coat on the back row who was already on his third cir-cuit.

Max Gut kept checking the small mobile telephone that he had treated himself to six months earlier. He had given both of his sons the number. But apart from the time one of them had needed a signa-ture to sell some land, the phone had never rung. This year, Patrick had warned him that he’d be skiing over Christmas and his brother would be accompanying him.

At the end of the line, the tram rattled into the reversing loop. Max Gut remained seated. Suddenly he found the driver standing next to him. “Happy Christmas,” the driver said. “I guess you’re alone.” Hans Wagner was used to people who got on but didn’t get off again. Most of them were just lonely. He sat down next to his passenger on the two-seater bench, unscrewed the lid of his ther-mos of coffee and passed Gut a piece of Christmas cake. “From my wife. She makes the very best.”

“It isn’t good to be alone,” Gut whispered. “Especially on Christmas Eve.”

“You can have a family and yet still be alone,” Wagner replied. He told his passenger about the tensions at home. “I’d like to go on holiday with my wife once. Just the two of us.” Wagner sighed.

“That’s virtually impossible with three kids. I occasionally do over-time or take on shifts that my colleagues don’t want, like tonight. That’s how I make ends meet.” He laughed bitterly. “But there’s not enough for extras, and that hurts. I’d love to be able to give my wife something special to show her how much she means to me.”

Max Gut looked at the tram driver and smiled. “She has the best present of all,” he said. “Someone who loves her dearly.”S

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At one in the morning, the last tour and Wagner’s shift came to an end. Gut said goodbye to the tram driver and handed him an envelope. They were now on fi rst-name terms.

Wagner shook the old man’s hand. “You’ll come for dinner to-morrow night, won’t you? We’re having leftovers. Lotti is a whiz with leftovers!”

When Wagner got home, his wife was clearing up the living room. “How was it?” he asked, throwing his tram driver’s cap to-wards the cupboard.

“Same as always,” she replied. “Ilse gave me a suitcase. What do I want with a suitcase?” She put the remain-ing glasses onto a tray and picked it up.

Wagner took the tray out of her hands. “For once, Ilse has had a won-derful idea,” he said. “Why don’t we go away?” Charlotte managed a bitter laugh. “What with?” He hugged her.

“That’s my little surprise. Let’s just call it something to go in the pressure cooker.” She looked stunned as she saw the contents of the envelope he held out: three purple banknotes. “But Hans ... Hans ... That’s ... Where did you get these from?” Hans Wanger stroked his wife’s hair. “Miracles some-times happen at Christmas. Believe it or not, Father Christmas was sitting

on the number 6 tram today.”Max Gut was feeling satisfi ed, almost happy, when he got

home. It was a nice feeling bringing people joy. After all, wasn’t that the idea behind Christmas?

He heard the phone ringing as he reached his front door. He quickly opened it. “Where have you been? We must have called you a hundred times! We were really worried!” It was his two sons calling excitedly down the phone. “We even tried to reach you on your mobile.”

Max Gut felt a lump in his throat. He took the mobile phone out of his pocket. It was switched off. “I was sitting on the tram,” he whispered. “on the tram?! And you haven’t even commented on our surprise!” they shouted accusingly. “Didn’t you get the ex-press letter?”

Express letter? Max Gut had ignored the red note on his let-terbox, convinced that it must have been a mistake. Who’d send him an express letter?

“There’s a train ticket inside. We’ll pick you up in Davos to-morrow and ... What’s wrong, Dad?”

Max Gut wiped the tears away. “I’m OK. But you should en-joy your skiing holiday too. I’ll gladly come, but I’ll bring along a couple I recently met. The husband is a bit like the Father Christ-mas of the number 6 tram.”

hanspeter hammel, alias -minu, is an author and journalist. He lives in Basel and Rome.

7I M A G E S

Aerial photography. Swiss balloonist Eduard Spelterini (1852–1931) was famous throughout Europe. From 1893, he used his balloon fl ights to take aerial photographs. He was the fi rst person to fl y over the Alps and take pictures of them. He immortalised Swiss cities, but also landscapes and locations in Egypt, the Orient and South Africa. His photographs have now been printed in book form for the very fi rst time. The illustrated book is published in English and German and can be ordered at www.scheidegger-spiess.ch

Lake Zurich and surrounding area seen from the west, 1904 Zurich old town and main station seen from the east, 1909/1910

Basel and the Rhine bridges seen from the north

St Gallen old town, 1893?

Geneva old town, Parc des Bastions and cathedral seen from the south-west

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“How would the area have looked prior to the 10th century?” I ask. It was all dense for-est, they tell me. The Sihlsee, Switzerland’s largest artifi cial lake, has only existed since 1937. “In 835, a Benedictine monk called Meinrad left the island of Reichenau on Lake Constance and withdrew to the ‘dark forest’ south of Lake Zurich, where he set-tled,” the abbot tells us. “He was slain in 861.” The perpetrators, two robbers whom the hermit had invited in, were followed all the way to Zurich by Meinrad’s two ravens, where the men were recognised and con-victed. This is why the abbey’s crest shows two ravens on a yellow background. Seventy years later, a monastery was built on the former site of Meinrad’s hermitage. Al-though he lived as a hermit and dedicated his entire life to God, many people came to Meinrad seeking his advice. The memory of

this outlived him and remained fresh in peo-ple’s minds long after the monastery was founded. Even the name Einsiedeln is de-rived from the German word for hermits.

Forty-fi ve-year-old Martin Werlen, Swit-zerland’s youngest abbot, has led the abbey since 2001. He is the 58th abbot of Ein-siedeln, and responsible for not only the 80 monks of Einsiedeln but also 28 nuns liv-ing at the convent in Fahr. “My job is to up-hold and renew the basic tenets of the abbey, namely that it should be a place in which to encounter God, people and Creation, a place where one can encounter oneself. It is a very exciting challenge to put these prin-ciples into practice and anchor them in the beginning of the 21st century.” The monks’ primary task is to serve God. They gather to pray six times a day, and spend a lot of their time looking after pilgrims.

E I N S I E D E L N M O N A S T E R Y

A monastery in the 21st century. The Benedictine abbey of Einsiedeln (SZ), a famous place of pilgrimage, lives in harmony with the 21st century without losing sight of its traditions. The monastery is a hive of activity, with a variety of workshops, schools and Europe’s oldest stud farm within its walls. The door opens and we step inside to meet the monks. By Alain Wey

The Benedictine Abbey of Our Lady of the Hermits proudly occupies a spot near the Sihlsee south of Lake Zurich. The monas-tery’s impressive and evocative two bell towers almost root visitors to the spot in contemplative observation. Mystery lies in the air, and charades of spirits conjure up medieval heroic myths. A thousand years. I’m sorry? This place is older than the Swiss confederation! Every year, almost a million pilgrims visit Einsiedeln monastery, founded in 934. And yet the pilgrimages are only the visible tip of the iceberg, for the abbey has many surprises up its sleeve: schools, workshops and the oldest stud farm in Europe. Indeed a mini universe ex-ists behind the walls of the monastery. Ab-bot Martin Werlen and Fathers Alois Kur-mann and Lorenz Moser take us on a tour of the abbey.

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Abbot Martin Werlen

Einsiedeln Monastery was founded in 934

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gious community, a place of pilgrimage, a cultural centre through its library, an edu-cational establishment, entrepreneurial un-dertaking and producer of wine and wood, landowner (leasing out farms), hotelier and horse-breeder. This diversification is unique and fascinating!”

The abbey has always been a cultural stronghold. While walking through the wide, light corridors, 64-year-old Father

Alois tells us about the monastery’s dyna-mism. The Latin teacher unlocks door af-ter door using an ancient bunch of keys. The abbey maintains no fewer than three schools: a mixed-sex 340-pupil grammar school specialising in classics and founded in 1839, a seminary (1620) and an agricul-tural college for women at Fahr Convent (1944). Through the windows you can see the grammar school’s sports grounds, which

In many respects, today’s abbey is like a medium-sized company. “In addition to the monks, some 180 lay brothers live in the monastery,” the abbot explains. “There are carpenters, painters, printers, bookbinders, roofers, plumbers, electricians, gardeners, stable hands and vintners.”

“It’s hard to imagine how big the monas-tery really is,” adds Reto Krismer, the mon-astery’s administrative director. “It’s a reli-

Monks at prayer A manuscript from the library The monastery is self-suffi cient

The sight pilgrims come to see: Einsiedeln‘s black Madonna in the baroque church

FACTS AND FIGURES

■ There are 80 monks in Einsiedeln Abbey and 28 nuns at Fahr Convent (founded 1130) near Zurich. Einsiedeln is the only Benedic-tine monastery whose abbot heads religious communities for both men and women. The oldest monk is 88 years old, the youngest – a novice – is 22.■ Pilgrims: The local tourist board estimates

that a million pilgrims a year pass through Einsiedeln. In addition, the abbey accommo-dates some 800 people a year in its 35 guest rooms, and these visitors spend anything from two days to a week at the monastery.■ Benedictine monks from Einsiedeln have gone on to found monasteries in north and south America.■ The abbey’s library contains 1230 manu-

scripts (more than 500 of which were pro-duced before 1500), 1100 incunabula and fi rst editions (until 1520) and 230,000 printed volumes (from the 16th century to the present day).■ The abbey has about a thousand hectares of woodland managed by a team of seven to eight foresters.

www.kloster-einsiedeln.ch

10

Virgin Mary wasn’t always black,” the ab-bot says. “The fi rst chapel was very small, so the soot from the candles gradually blackened the statue over the centuries. In order to prevent it being damaged during the French Revolution, the statue was smuggled to Austria, where it was restored and cleaned. But when the people spied the pristine Madonna fi gure again, they were disappointed because the black had gone. So she was simply painted black!” The ab-bey’s cellars contain 35,000 bottles of wine, most of which stems from the abbey’s own vineyards in Pfäffi kon. Wine has been pro-duced on the shores of Lake Zurich since

the 17th century. The cellars were added in 1704 when the baroque abbey was built.

“We are constantly renovating and restor-ing the different parts of the abbey,” Abbot Martin says. “That’s why it’s crucial that we have the original plans. Luckily, our ar-chives go right back to the 10th century.”

Just like in the French town of Lourdes, miracles are said to have happened in Ein-siedeln. What does the abbot think about this? “Many miracles occur here, though the greatest aren’t necessarily the most spectacular, but rather take place when people rediscover a purpose in their life and renewed hope.”

will soon undergo extensive renovation. In the abbey’s music library, Father Lukas Helg shows us a priceless gem: a musical score hand-written by Mozart in Paris. The library contains more than 6000 mu-sical works and houses a collection of pieces by 19th-century Swiss composers. The splendid baroque rococo-style hall of the library is used to store manuscripts, some of which are as old as the abbey itself.

A few steps inside the entrance of the ba-roque church erected in 1735, the Chapel of Our Lady (or Chapel of the Black Ma-donna) occupies the spot where St. Mein-rad’s altar once stood. “The statue of the

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The monastery‘s stud farm is considered the oldest in Europe

A THOUSAND-YEAR-OLD STUD FARM

■ The stables of Einsiedeln Abbey, estab-lished in 934, are considered the oldest and best preserved stud farm in Europe. In the fi rst century of its existence, the monks were mainly noblemen; knights who brought their riding horses with them. The abbey’s horses were once known as “cavalli della Madonna” (horses of Our Lady). Today they are simply called Einsiedler horses. “When-ever the abbot travelled to Rome or Trieste in the 16th century, the Italians were always very surprised and impressed by the cavalli della Madonna,” Abbot Martin says. But the stud farm doesn’t only breed horses.

It also offers stables and has a riding school with its own ultra-modern riding hall built in 2004. Thirty-fi ve horses are currently housed in the stables, 18 Einsiedlers and 17 boarders. “The Einsiedler is a Warmblood horse in terms of its temperament and mor-phology,” explains Father Lorenz Moser, the monastery’s stable-master. “It is a medium-sized horse standing about 16 hands (165 cm) to the withers, with a life expectancy of about 20 years.” Two foals are born on the farm each year. “We don’t want any more than that because we need the mares for riding,” he adds. The old stables from 1768 are currently under going

complete renovation, so the carpenters, locksmiths, bricklayers, painters and other craftsmen at the monastery’s workshops have plenty to do. The renovation is due to be fi nished in 2008. The stud farm is run by an experienced horse-breeder and her four stable hands, who look after the horses and give riding lessons. A vet visits the ani-mals several times a week. Over the course of its thousand-year history, the Einsiedler has been crossed with various other breeds, though the sporty character of this wonder-ful horse, whose historic roots stretch all the way back to the 10th century, has always shone through.

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coverage of CHF 10,000. Members can choose to increase, reduce, or cancel any supplementary coverage at any time. The lump-sum compensation is limited to CHF 150,000 per member.

But not all Soliswiss members live in risk-prone countries.

The risk contributions are a gesture of like-minded-ness among Swiss citizens who live abroad. These amounts are fully credited to the Soliswiss Risk Com-pensation Fund which is used exclusively to grant lump-sum compensations. Thus, Soliswiss members in politi-cally stable countries express their solidarity with fellow citizens who live in riskier regions.

Who can be insured?Swiss citizens who live or

lived abroad and still own substantial properties in a for-eign country. The lump-sum

compensation coverage is activated when the member registers with the respective Swiss diplomatic mission.

Who is eligible to receive compensation?

Any member who loses his or her livelihood for political reasons.

How much do members pay for extra coverage?

Under the annual member-ship terms, the additional coverage costs 0.4% of the agreed lump-sum compensa-tion amount.

How long must a member be insured to receive support in distress?

The lump-sum compensa-tion is paid out if the coverage has been in place at least two years prior to the occur-rence of the loss of livelihood. The waiting period is only one year if the member sub-mits his or her application for membership within the fi rst fi ve years of the expat status. Lump-sum compen-sations are not paid out before the waiting period expires.

What happens if a Soliswiss member dies?

In the event of death, the member’s relatives have the opportunity to adopt his or her lump-sum compen-sation guarantee without a

waiting period. If a Soliswiss member dies as a result of events with political back-grounds, his or her relatives can claim the lump-sum com-pensation in behalf of the member, provided the eligi-bility requirements are ful-fi lled.

Who decides whether a member receives support?

The Soliswiss Executive Committee reviews all incom-ing claims and pursuant to the Articles of Association decides on the payment of a lump-sum compensation or a grant from the Auxiliary Relief Fund.

How many persons have been assisted so far?

Overall, more than 600 families around the world have benefi ted from this Soliswiss program.

Is this fi nancial support secured?For lump-sum compensa-

tion payments in compliance with the Articles of Associa-tion, the Swiss government has granted Soliswiss an un-limited Federal default guar-antee in case equity should not be suffi cient to make these payments.

What about the risk coverage of an expat who returns to Swit-zerland?

Such members have several options: if they still own sig-nifi cant property in their former country of residence, they can leave the lump-sum protection in place. If not, they become solidarity mem-bers for the duration of their stay in Switzerland. If they later take up residence in a foreign country again, they immediately benefi t from the lump-sum compensation guarantee again, without a new waiting period.

EXAMPLE OF A LUMP-SUM COMPENSATION

Years ago, Swiss citizen X moved to Lebanon and took up residence there with her partner. The couple has three children, owns a single-family home, and jointly operates a small business. During the war, the family was evacuated by the Swiss embassy. The house and the business were destroyed. Since X is a Soliswiss member and increased her lump-sum compensation coverage against politi-cal risks to CHF 90,000, she applied for compensation. After receipt of the lump sum and the end of the warfare in Lebanon, X can return and rebuild her future. Thus, Soliswiss has fulfi lled its purpose by providing a Swiss citizen with the means to get a new start in life.

12 N O T E S F R O M P A R L I A M E N T

The network

of Swiss foreign

missions

The Federal Department

of Foreign Affairs (FDFA)

has issued the following

infor mation about the

strategy for developing the

network of Swiss foreign

representations and about

ongoing restructuring.

General information

and strategy

In accordance with the prin-ciple of universality, Swit-zerland has relations with every country in the world through its foreign policy. This network can be de-scribed as close-knit when compared to those of other countries. In order to safe-guard its interests abroad, Switzerland maintains a

large, geographically wide-spread network of represen-tations, currently compris-ing more than 150 missions (diplomatic and consular services) as well as coopera-tion offi ces and honorary consulates (see table in next column). The principle of universality is refl ected in the furthering of our in-terests worldwide, our inde-pendence and our policy of neutrality. This principle will also remain inviolable in the future. If gaps occur, it is up to us to fi ll them. Although we could theoreti-cally restrict our network to a handful of large represen-tations, this would neither further our country’s inter-ests nor satisfy the needs of expatriate Swiss citizens, who rely on our services.

The foreign network fulfi ls a central role in

defending Swiss interests. It is a proven tool and satis-fi es many of the needs of Swiss foreign policy. It is constantly being evaluated and where necessary adapted in line with devel-opments in our priorities. In response to the strict austerity measures adopted by the Swiss Parliament in recent years, the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs felt obliged to re-structure its network of for-eign representations while continuing to further our country’s high-priority in-terests.

Recent restructuring

Since the early 1990s, 22 missions (six embassies and 16 consulates general) have had to close. Over the same period, 20 new missions have been opened, primarily embassies, most of them in Europe, as a result of the expansion of the European Union and the breakdown of the Soviet Union and the former Yugoslavia.

Due to the cost-cutting measures approved by Par-liament in 2004, the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs decided to close nine consulates general from 2005 onwards. This has been partly completed, with the offi ces in Amsterdam, Man-chester, Las Palmas, Dres-den, Melbourne and Hou-ston closing in 2006 and the representation in Naples closing this year.

In 2008, the FDFA plans to close the consulates gen-eral in Osaka and Bordeaux, and open a new embassy in the Azerbaijani capital Baku.

The work previously un-dertaken at the consulates now closed will have to be handled by other missions in the relevant country.

In parallel to this, the FDFA has appointed honor-ary consuls whose key task is to safeguard Swiss interests in their particular region and maintain contact between the Swiss authorities and the local Swiss community through its associations.

In 2006, the FDFA also decided to open two new consulates general, one in St.Peters burg and the other in Guangzhou (China), on account of the high demand for consular services in these two regions.

The future

In the future we expect the focus of the network of Swiss foreign representa-tions to shift from Europe to areas outside Europe. At present, 41 percent of Swiss representations and 43 per-cent of our “mobile” staff are located within Europe.

This concentration may appear natural at fi rst sight given Switzerland’s close po-litical and economic ties with its fellow European na-tions, but it does not refl ect the reality on the ground. At the political level, bilateral agreements are increasingly being negotiated within the framework of the European institutions in Brussels rather than directly with in-dividual countries, as was previously the case. Indeed our representations play a less important role for Swiss citizens resident in Europe and North America than for S

WIS

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No. 6

THE NETWORK OF SWISS

FOREIGN REPRESENTATIONS

AS AT 1.10.2007

Embassies 96Missions 12Consulates 37Miscellaneous offi ces 6Honorary consulates 176Cooperation offi ces 42

13

RESPONSIBLE F OR THE OFFICIAL FDFA INF ORMATION PAGES:

G ABRIEL A BRODBEC K, SER VICE F OR THE S WISS ABROAD/FDFA , BUNDES-

G ASSE 32, C H-3003 BERNE, TEL. +41 31 324 23 98, FAX: +41 31 324 23 60

WWW.EDA .ADMIN.C H/ASD, PA6-AUSL ANDC H@EDA .ADMIN.C H

those living elsewhere. The reason for this is that bureau-cratic procedures in Europe and North America are sim-pler to grasp since the legal norms are comparable to those in Switzerland. As such, Swiss citizens know what to do and can therefore do without our support.

Furthermore, migration from these regions does not pose any problems in terms of visa applications or the repatriation of failed asylum seekers, matters regularly faced by representations in other countries. The situa-tion is fundamentally differ-ent in Asia, the Middle East,

Africa and Latin America, which is why the representa-tions in these regions are ful-fi lling an increasingly impor-tant role. It is therefore inevitable that our human and fi nancial resources will be re-distributed to reduce the con-centration of representations in Europe and North America for the benefi t of all other re-gions.

The current restructuring and cost-cutting measures within the FDFA will proba-bly lead to further closures of representations and consu-lates general.

FDFA DIRECT ORATE F OR MAN AGEMENT

Translated from French

Against fat-cat

payouts

The politically independent

committee “Federal Popular

Initiative Against Fat-cat

Payouts” launched the

federal initiative “against

fat-cat payouts” in October

2006 (see Swiss Review

1/07). The committee wants

to increase the co-determi-

nation rights of sharehold-

ers. The new ruling would

only affect Swiss public

limited companies listed in

Switzerland or abroad.

In recent years, the directors and managers of Swiss pub-licly listed fi rms have re-ceived rewards worth mil-lions. This initiative aims to restrict such payouts by giving shareholders a greater say in such matters. The initiators also believe that the draft amendment to the Swiss joint-stock legis lation does not go far enough.

The initiative calls for a change to Article 95 of the Swiss Federal Constitution. A new Paragraph 3 of this article would oblige all com-panies to vote on all pay-ments to their management,

both monetary and in kind, at their annual general meet-ing. Shareholders would also decide on the membership of the board of directors, remuneration committee and advisory board every year. Departing managers would not be given golden hand-shakes anymore, and advance payments and bonuses for corporate mergers and acqui-sitions would also be forbid-den. Because shareholders are often spread out around the world, the initiative wants to strengthen their decision-making powers by introducing electronic remote voting via SMS or over the Internet.

In addition to amending the Federal Constitution, the initiative also wants the Provisional Regulations changed. A new clause 8 of Article 197 of these regula-tions would oblige the Gov-ernment to issue a decree enforcing the measures if the new constitutional amend-ment does come into effect within a year of being ap-proved by the two chambers of Parliament.

The initiative can be signed until 1 May 2008.

Translated from German

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POPULAR INITIATIVES

The following initiatives have been launched since the last issue:■ “For protection against gun-related violence” (until 4 March 2009)■ “Home ownership through building society savings” (until 7 February 2009)■ “Secure housing in old age” (until 7 February 2009)■ “For freedom of expression – No to censorship!” (until 7 February 2009)

Signature forms for current initiatives can be downloaded from the Federal Chancellery site: www.admin.ch/ch/d/pore/vi/vis_1_3_1_1.html

Translated from German

As announced in issue 6/05 of the Swiss Review, the Swiss Compen-sation Offi ce has closed its foreign Old-age, Survivors’ and Disability Insurance (AHV/IV) offi ces. We have now concentrated all our activities in Geneva. All insured persons have already been notifi ed per sonally in writing about the change. All the insurance fi les are now stored in Geneva.

After the reform of the voluntary AHV/IV scheme in January 2001, which led to a signifi cant fall in the number of insured persons, this reorganisation was deemed inevitable.

The changes do not affect people who already receive an AHV or IV pension.

The Swiss Compensation Offi ce and the IV offi ce for insured persons residing outside Switzerland, both of which are divisions of the Central Compensation Offi ce, are jointly responsible for the administration of the voluntary AHV/IV scheme.

For further information concerning contributions, please contact: Zentrale Ausgleichsstelle ZAS, Schweizerische Ausgleichs-kasse SAK, Freiwillige Versicherung, Beitraege, Avenue Edmond-Vaucher 18, Case postale 3100, CH-1211 Geneva 2, Tel. +41 22 795 9111, Fax +41 22 795 1501, csc-af@zas.admin.ch,www.avs-ai-international.ch

For further information concerning old age pension and survi-vors’ (AHV) benefi ts, please contact: Zentrale Ausgleichsstelle ZAS, Schweizerische Ausgleichskasse SAK, Freiwillige Versicherung, Leistungen, Avenue Edmond-Vaucher 18, Case postale 3100, CH-1211 Geneva 2, Tel. +41 22 795 9111, Fax +41 22 795 9703, sedmaster@zas.admin.ch, www.avs-ai-international.ch

For further information concerning disability (IV) benefi ts, please contact: Zentrale Ausgleichsstelle ZAS, IV-Leistungen fuer Auslandschweizer, Avenue Edmond-Vaucher 18, Case postale 3100, CH-1211 Geneva 2, Tel. +41 22 795 9111, Fax +41 22 795 9950, OAIE@zas.admin.ch, www.avs-ai-international.ch

S WISS COMPENS ATION OFFICE – VOL UNTAR Y INSURANCE CONTRIBUTIONS Translated from French

NOTICE FROM THE SWISS COMPENSATION OFFICE

TO VOLUNTARILY INSURED PERSONS

14 F E D E R A L E L E C T I O N S 2 0 0 7

SVP on a high, SPS in the doldrums

The Swiss People’s Party has emerged as the winner of the gen-eral election for the fi fth time in succession. The Social Demo-cratic Party suffered a bitter blow. Turnout, at 48.8 percent, was higher than at any time since the 1980s. By Rolf Ribi

The hotly-contested election ended with a historic result on a cold Sunday in October. The Swiss People’s Party (SVP) gained a 29-percent share of the vote, its best showing since the introduction of proportional rep-resentation in 1919. Meanwhile, the Swiss Social Democratic Party (SPS) failed to get more than 20 percent for the fi rst time since 1991, picking up just 19.5 percent of votes cast. “The outcome of the 2007 election strengthens the hand of nationalist and conservative forces,” the “NZZ” newspaper commented.

The scale of the election victory for the SVP and the disappointing results for the SPS came as a surprise. The right-wing SVP won an extra seven seats and now holds 62 of the 200 seats on the National Council. It therefore has the same number of represent-atives in parliament as the Free Democrats (FDP) and Christian Democrats (CVP) combined, and nearly as many as the entire

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red-green camp. Indeed it has fully 19 seats more than the second-largest party in the National Council, the SPS. The SVP managed to in-crease its share of the vote in nearly every can-ton, not only in its tradi-tional strongholds in the Mittelland and eastern Switzerland, but also in central Switzerland and French-speaking areas.

What are the reasons for the historically unique upswing in the SVP’s fortunes? It sounds out public sentiment and addresses issues the Swiss care about. It employs a con-vincing style of political marketing and knows how to rally its members to assist in campaigning. It has seemingly limitless fi nan-

cial resources which it isn’t obliged to dis-close. And most importantly, the party has in Christoph Blocher a charismatic leader who exuded patriotic sentiments on thousands of election posters throughout Switzerland.

As recently as two years ago, the Social Democrats had aspirations to be the largest group in parliament. And yet now they have

lost nine seats, are re-duced to only 43 seats on the National Council and received less that 20 percent of the votes cast. They lost no fewer than three seats in Zurich canton alone, as well as a further two in Berne and one each in Basel City, Neuchâtel, Solo-thurn and the Valais. The SPS may have proven credentials on welfare and environ-mental policies, but the

party wasn’t able to present its manifesto clearly. As a result, many SPS supporters chose to vote for the left-of-centre Green Party (GPS) and the Green Liberals (GLP) instead. The SPS’s loss of nine seats there-fore contrasted with the gain of 10 seats by these two ecology-based parties.

The other big loser in October’s general election was the centre-right Free Democratic Party. The FDP wasn’t able to halt its ongo-ing downward slide, and shed a total of fi ve seats to fi nish up with just 31. Despite being one of federal Switzerland’s founding politi-cal parties, the FDP’s share of the vote shrank by 1.5 percent to an all-time low of 15.6 per-cent. The FDP lost a seat in the cantons of Schaffhausen, Solothurn, St.Gallen, Vaud and Zurich. Meanwhile, the smaller Swiss Liberal Party (LPS) was able to hold onto its four seats in coalition with the Free Democrats.

The conservative CVP was able to make gains at the national level for the fi rst time since 1979, adding three seats to the 28 it al-ready had. That means the Christian Dem-ocrats and Free Democrats now have the same number of representatives in the large chamber. Nevertheless, the CVP couldn’t quite reach its declared target of 15 percent of votes, picking up 14.6 percent. Because it got fewer votes than the FDP, it will have to temporarily shelve its plans to obtain a sec-ond seat on the Federal Council. The CVP won an extra seat in the cantons of Aargau,

Source: Projections and fi nal results(as at 9pm on Sunday)

The cartoonist Schaad in “Tages-Anzeiger”

National Council Elections 2007 – Projection

Percentage of votes cast for each party

National Council elections 2007 – Number of seats held by each party 1983–2007

Distribution of seats

Total200 seats

Greens 19

Others 10

Greens Misc.

15

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Solothurn, Vaud, Valais and Zurich, but lost a seat in Jura canton and Obwalden.

The GPS joins the SVP as the big winners of the election, despite missing its 10-per-cent target by 0.4 percent. Even so, the GPS parliamentary group has almost trebled in size, from seven to 20. The Greens gained two seats in Zurich and one each in the can-tons of Basel City, Berne, Geneva, Solothurn and Vaud. Although the GPS is a relatively new party and stems from the popular move-ment of the late 1970s, it is now the fi fth-largest party in Switzerland. It is clearly left-wing, but it is most credible on ecological issues.

Stability on the Council of States

The fi rst round of voting for the Council of States did not produce any major upsets. The Social Democrats picked up a seat in Basel-Land canton, while the Greens gained a seat

on the Council of States for the very fi rst time in Geneva. Not all of the 46 seats have been allo-cated. So far, only 29 of the 41 available seats have been won outright. A second round of vot-ing will be required to decide the winners of a further 12 seats in the cantons of Zurich, St. Gallen, Lucerne, Neuchâtel, Valais, Ti-cino and Vaud. Al-

though there is a strong centre-right block in the small chamber in the shape of the CVP and FDP, even minor shifts in seat allocation could have a signifi cant effect, for instance through possible alliances between the CVP and the SPS and Greens.

Next up: the Federal Council election

The general election will be followed by the election of the Federal Council on 12 Decem-ber. Three uncertainties have already been cleared up. Firstly, given the stronger-than-expected showing for right-wing parties, it appears unlikely that Christoph Blocher will be deselected as demanded by the Social Democrats and Greens. Secondly, the CVP will have to wait a little longer before it can expect to secure a second ministerial post at the FDP’s expense. Thirdly, the Greens are still a long way from getting a place in gov-ernment.

Truly historicThe results of the National Council elec-tions deserve to be labelled historic. Since the introduction of proportional represen-tation in 1919, no party has ever increased its share of the vote by as much as the Swiss People’s Party (SVP) on 21 October. The SVP even made gains in areas where it thought it was at its peak. On the other side of the coin, the Social Democrats have suffered an equally historic defeat. In-stead of reaching its target of becoming the strongest party, the SP now trails the SVP by 10 percent and 20 seats. And de-spite making considerable headway, the Greens couldn’t compensate for the SP’s losses. Overall, therefore, the Swiss Parlia-ment has shifted slightly to the right, even though the blocks themselves remain rela-tively stable.

Wins by the Christian Democrats and the newly-formed Green Liberals have under-pinned the camp that generally shapes so-lutions acceptable to the majority of MPs. Just as in the past, left- and right-wing proposals will only succeed through com-promise with the centrist parties, espe-cially since the Christian Democrats and Free Democrats continue to have a major-ity of the seats on the Council of States.

After a costly and rather heated election campaign by Swiss standards, the politi-cians can now get back to work again. And they have plenty of important issues to ad-dress: over the next four years, the Agree-ment on the Free Movement of People with the EU will have to be reviewed, fi nancing secured for the Invalidity Insurance scheme, and both the health insurance and AHV systems must be reformed. Other topics they’ll have to tackle include the expansion of the country’s transport infra-structure, higher education reform and the integration of foreigners.

Following its election victory, the SVP has a right to claim a leading role. But de-spite its success, it doesn’t have an abso-lute majority and remains “only” a 30-per-cent party. It will therefore only be able to exercise its leading role if it steers clear of absolute demands and seeks compromises likely to get majority support. If not, it could well head straight into a stalemate.

RENE LENZIN

POLITICS: TWO REFERENDA TO BE HELD ON 24 FEBRUARY 2008

In February, the Swiss people will be asked to vote on a reform of corporate taxation and on the popular initiative “Against Jet Fighter Noise in Tourist Areas”.

The fi scal reforms are an at-tempt by the Federal Council and centre-right parliamen-tary majority to lower the tax burden on companies that are their own shareholders. At present, such companies are liable for tax both on all their corporate profi ts and on divi-dends. If the bill becomes law, shareholders who own at least 10 percent of a public limited company will have to pay tax

on only 50 percent of their holdings if these are in their own fi rm, and on no more than 60 percent if the shares are in private hands. The cantons would be obliged to adopt this principle of part-taxation, but would be free to set the rates themselves. The backers of the bill say that it is designed mainly for the benefi t of small and medium-sized companies (SMEs). However, left-wing parties and the Greens see it as an unjustifi ed tax break for ma-jor shareholders, and have successfully pushed for a pop-ular vote.

The initiative against jet fi ghter noise arose out of dis-cussions about noise pollu-tion around Meiringen mili-tary airbase. It calls for a ban on exercises involving mili-tary aircraft over popular tourist areas, although the wording of the initiative leaves its precise scope open. According to the Federal Council and Parliament, popu-lar approval of the referendum would severely restrict the areas available to the Swiss Air Force for training purposes and make credible exercises impossible. They therefore reject the proposal. RL

The SVP blows right across Switzerland. The cartoonist Burki in “24 Heures”

16 O S A N E W S

Votes receivedSVP Swiss abroad list (Zurich):Peter Simon Kaul, Radebeul, Germany SVP ZH 915Inge Schütz, Stockholm, Sweden (DFA) SVP ZH 1300Mario Valli, Edenvale, South Africa SVP ZH 778Urs C. Grassi, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam SVP ZH 686Karl Bachmann, Tranva, Croatia SVP ZH 1160Ueli Maurer, Borgen, Norway SVP ZH 1165Heinz Moll, Prague, Czech Republic SVP ZH 834Markus Stöckli, Quito, Ecuador SVP ZH 857Martina Solmes, Battle Creek, USA SVP ZH 778Thomas Frank Daetwyler, Colombo SVP ZH 717Jürg Neuhans, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia SVP ZH 728Hubert Brumann, East London, South Africa SVP ZH 712Thomas Aeschi, Belmont, USA SVP ZH 769Hans-Peter Bieri, Cairo, Egypt (DFA) SVP ZH 761Rinaldo Bucher, Weston, USA SVP ZH 795Bruno Kaspar, Vilnius, Lithuania SVP ZH 712Walter Müller, Capetown, South Africa SVP ZH 807Yvonne Ochsner, Whitehorse, Canada SVP ZH 891Norbert Ehrbar, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam SVP ZH 717Nicolas Szita, London, UK SVP ZH 750Heinz Keller, Huonville, Australia SVP ZH 803Hans-Rudolf Abächerli, Bolans, Antigua SVP ZH 708Claude Abächerli, Boxborough, USA SVP ZH 698Herbert J. Abächerli, Caracas, Venezuela SVP ZH 687

Votes received

Ch. Abächerli Larenas, Sangolqui, Ecuador SVP ZH 730Werner Furrer, Triesenberg, Liechtenstein SVP ZH 785SVP Swiss abroad list (Schaffhausen):R. B. Schudel, Vico Morcote, Jo‘burg, RSA SVP SH 305Edgar Studer, Berkshire, UK SVP SH 309SVP Swiss abroad list (Geneva): Andrée-Danielle Chevrier, Sciez, France SVP GE 1461Pierre Goldschmid, Brunoy, France SVP GE 1344Jacques Schalk, Thono-les-Bains, France SVP GE 1356Ron Favarger, Toronto, Canada SVP GE 1489Philippe Chollet, Abuja, Nigeria SVP GE 1353FDP Swiss abroad list (Zurich): H. Freiermuth, Gainesville, USA & Canada FDP ZH 1581Gil Schneider, Singapore FDP ZH 1191Hansueli Meili, Yogyakarta, Indonesia FDP ZH 1063Urs Wäfl er, India FDP ZH 1015FDP Swiss abroad list (Schaffhausen): Hans-Rudolf Gyr, Charlottesville, USA FDP SH 234Sina Kaben, Munich, Germany FDP SH 263Individual candidates on domestic lists: Raphael Thiémard, Neufchâteau, Belgium Greens FR 2251Erich J. Grübel, Kekava, Latvia CVP BE 1986Pascal Kalbermatten, Tokyo, Japan JCVP VS 1620Désirée Föry, Innsbruck, Austria JFDP SZ 261

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Federal Elections 2007

No seats for the

Swiss abroad

The Swiss People’s Party (SVP) was the winner of October’s general election in terms of votes from the Swiss abroad, although its share of the vote was much higher among the domestic elector-ate. In the cantons of Geneva, Lucerne and Vaud, whose election statistics show the number of votes by expatri-ates, the SVP gained between 5 and 5.4 percent more votes from the Swiss abroad than in the last election in 2003. However the proportion of SVP votes from the Fifth Switzerland remained below the cantonal average in all three cantons. The SP re-ceived the most Swiss abroad votes in Geneva and Vaud, while the CVP came top in Lucerne.

With the exception of Councillor of State Filippo Lombardi (CVP/TI), who faces a run-off vote, all sitting CSA federal councillors were re-elected on 21 October, namely National Councillors Thérèse Meyer (CVP/FR), Markus Hutter (FDP/ZH), Hans Kaufmann (SVP/ZH),

André Reymond (SVP/GE) and Carlo Sommaruga (SP/GE). None of the expatriate CSA candidates – Ron Favar-ger, Peter Kaul, Rolf Schudel and Edgar Studer (all stand-ing for the SVP) – were elected, nor were any other Swiss abroad candidates.

A total of 45 candidates from the Fifth Switzerland stood for election. None of them made it into Parlia-ment, primarily because of a lack of support from their own parties. Raphael Thié-mard from Belgium got the most votes (2251). He was the only Green candidate

among the expatriates in the election, and wasn’t on a Swiss abroad list, but the offi cial list of the Geneva Greens. In second place, with 2009 votes, was Julien Neir-ynck from France, who stood for the CVP in Vaud, fol-lowed by fellow French-resi-dent Florian Rochat (EDU, VD), with 2000 votes.

Thirty-three of the candi-dates stood on an SVP ticket. The SVP’s popularity with the Swiss abroad has risen steadily ever since the intro-duction of postal voting in 1992. Whereas its share of the votes was between 10 and

The results of Swiss abroad candidates (as at 23.10.2007):

14 percent in the relevant cantons four years ago, it was 15–19 percent this time round.

Voter turnout among the Swiss abroad in the cantons of Geneva (35%), Lucerne (39%), Vaud (33%) and Ap-penzell-Innerrhoden (10%) was signifi cantly lower than the cantonal average (47%, 53%, 44% and 21% respec-tively).

Once again, complaints were made about voting doc-uments arriving too late, an issue also pointed out by election monitors from the OSCE.

Make new friends

and fi nd out more

about Switzerland

The Organisation of the Swiss

Abroad offers young people

from around the globe a

whole host of opportunities

to visit Switzerland. New des-

tinations for winter sports

camps are planned, host

families are ready to welcome

you, and there are plenty

of education offers for those

with a thirst for knowledge.

The OSA winter sports camps are extremely popular with the Swiss abroad. They offer young people from around the world a chance to spend ten days living and enjoying on- and off-piste activities with likeminded young-sters. The OSA’s trained ski and snowboard instructors show par-ticipants all the latest techniques and ensure that everyone has fun and progresses in their chosen sport. And it doesn’t matter if it’s your fi rst time in the snow or you have years of skiing or snowboar-ding experience. The exciting

thing about the camps is the interpersonal contact between people who share a common bond with Switzerland. You’ll fi nd out all about the land of your fore fathers and can discuss your experiences and background. An exciting range of off-piste activities make for a varied and entertaining stay. And of course it wouldn’t be complete without a lavish camp party. So if you’d like to spend an unforgettable winter holiday in Switzerland, come to one of the Swiss abroad camps.

Winter sport week

in Langwies/Arosa (GR)

23.2.–1.3.2008

A ski and snowboard camp for young adults aged 18 and up at the renowned Arosa ski resort. And the OSA has reserved a cosy, spacious lodge in Langw-ies. What better way is there to discover a new area?

Easter sports camp

in Fiesch (VS)

22.3.–29.3.2008

Because Easter is so early this year, you needn’t worry about

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there being enough snow. In-stead you can enjoy the benefi ts of the ever-longer days to the full. A winter sport camp for young people aged between 14 and 25 providing plenty of enter-tainment. There’s fun on the pis-tes in the Aletsch region and a lodge in which you’ll never get bored!

Study trips:

The OSA also enables you to combine holidays with learning. And we provide individual assistance in fi nding out about the education establishments in Switzerland. Get a taste of Switzer land’s most famous universities. Alternately, the OSA can provide practical in-sight into your dream profession. Relaxed host families look for-ward to your stay.

The OSA language courses will take place in Berne and Fribourg from 7.1. to 18.1.2008.

Organisation of the Swiss AbroadYouth ServiceTel.: +41 31 356 6100E-mail: youth@aso.chwww.aso.ch

Foundation for

Young Swiss Abroad:

Summer camp 2008

Are you aged between 8 and

14? Would you like to spend

14 days in Switzerland and

get to know your home coun-

try better? Then register for

one of the Foundation for

Young Swiss Abroad holiday

camps! We run summer

camps in the most beautiful

part of Switzerland every

year in July and August.

Programme

At our camps you’ll get to see local sights, explore lakes, mountains, rivers and the sur-rounding countryside, go on short hikes and maybe also visit nearby towns and cities. There will also be days when we simply stay at the camping lodge and play games or sports or take part in various work-shops.

Aside from this, there are plenty of opportunities to fi nd out lots of interesting things about Switzerland. For in-stance, we look at the Swiss language, Swiss songs, Swiss recipes, and typical Swiss games and sports.

Living together and spend-ing time with people from other linguistic, cultural and

geographic backgrounds is an unforgettable experience and a great way to make many new friends.

Cost

Attendance of the camps costs CHF 900 per child. The Foundation for Young Swiss Abroad would like as many Swiss expatriate children as possible to be given a chance to spend at least one holiday in Switzerland. For this rea-son, subsidies are available in certain circumstances. Appli-cation forms may be re-quested during registration.

Meeting point

The participants always ren-dezvous at Zurich Airport at lunchtime.

Parents are responsible for organising and paying for the outward journey to Zurich

Airport on the fi rst day and the return journey on the last day.

Staff

An experienced multilingual team of camp leaders ensures that everything runs smoothly and no-one gets bored at our holiday camps.

Registration

Precise information on the various camps as well as application forms will be available at www.aso.ch (under “Youth”, “Discover Switzer-land”, “Holiday camps”) from January 2008 onwards. On request, we can also send you our information brochure by post. Registration ends on 15 March 2008.

Winter camp 2008

Please note: there are still a few places available for the winter camp in Flumserberg (2–9 February 2008)! If you’re interested, please register soon!

For more information, con-tact our staff in Berne, who will be happy to help you:

Foundation for Young Swiss AbroadAlpenstrasse 26CH-3006 Berne Tel.: +41 31 356 6116Fax: +41 31 356 6101E-mail: sjas@aso.chwww.aso.ch

NEWLY-FOUNDED SCHOOL IN QUERÉTARO OFFICIALLY OPENED

On 29 September, the third Swiss school in Mexico formally opened with a major celebration in Queré-taro. In the presence of Swiss Ambassador Urs Breiter and a representative of the local education author-ity, the school’s pupils enthralled some 300 assembled guests with songs and dancing from Mexico and Switzerland.

The Querétaro campus began operating on 21 August, and has 43 teachers covering all levels from pre-school to the end of 4th grade. It also forms an integral part of the Swiss School in Mexico, which previously consisted of the secondary school in Mexico City (684 pupils) and the Cuernavaca campus (277 pupils), both of them mixed-sex. Classes from the schools in Mexico City and Cuernavaca also took part in the opening celebrations, proving that the three schools are elements of the same structure even though they lie about 300 kilometres apart.

Querétaro is currently one of the most dynamic business locations in Mexico. The foundation of the new Querétaro campus by the Swiss School in Mexico comes in reaction to demands by the local popula-tion for bicultural, multilingual education.

ORGANISATION OF THE SWISS ABROAD

Our services:■ Legal Department■ Youth Service■ Association for the Promotion of Education for Young Swiss Abroad (AJAS)■ Committee for Swiss Schools Abroad (CSSA)■ Foundation for Young Swiss Abroad (FYSA)

OSA, Organisation of the Swiss Abroad, Alpenstrasse 26, CH–3006 Berne, Phone +41 31 356 6100, Fax +41 31 356 6101, www.aso.ch

18 M I C H E L I N E C A L M Y - R E Y , F E D E R A L P R E S I D E N T 2 0 0 7

National Day celebrations on the Rütli: the highpoint. At the end of her one-year tenure as the Swiss president, National Councillor Micheline Calmy-Rey says that chairing government meetings was her toughest task. By contrast, she describes the 1 August celebrations on the Rütli as a highpoint. And the outgoing president hopes the Swiss abroad will continue to get involved in shaping the future of Switzerland. Interview by Heinz Eckert

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“Swiss Review”: Have you fulfi lled your aims as federal president? Were you able to engage with the general public as you wanted?

Micheline Calmy-Rey: The fi rst task of the federal president is to chair the meetings of the Federal Council and ensure the neces-sary decisions are taken. My objective was to give each member of the government suffi -cient leeway to express his or her opinions. I took great pains and care to ensure this was possible – successfully, I believe. The Federal Council discusses matters very directly and without pulling punches. But it also take de-cisions. In addition, I treated the presidency as an opportunity to enter into a direct rela-tionship with the Swiss people. I took part in public debates throughout the country and found that people everywhere were inter-ested in such a dialogue.

What were the highlights of your presidency?One highpoint was certainly the 1 August

celebrations on the Rütli, which fi nally took place following a fair amount of traditional Swiss toing and froing. I insisted that our Na-tional Day be celebrated on the Rütli, one of our few national symbols, and I received much positive feedback on that from the public. I’m pleased to note just how many people in our country see the Rütli as more than just any old fi eld. The other highlights of my presidency included the meetings with the people. Chairing Federal Council meet-ings was the toughest part.

You also attended the Congress of the Swiss Abroad in Geneva. What impression did that leave you with?

My impression is that the Swiss abroad want to get involved in Swiss affairs, partic-ularly through involvement in our demo-cratic institutions. For the fi rst time ever, more than 100,000 of them took part in a general election. I appreciate this dedication, which is by no means taken for granted.

What conclusions do you draw from your year as federal president?

Our system of direct democracy can only function properly if citizens actively partic-ipate in it and our Swiss political dialogues address all the issues at hand. My conclusion at the end of my year as federal president is that this continues to be the case. We are cur-rently facing a great challenge, namely to pre-serve our cohesion as a country of many cul-tures confronted with the new rules of globalisation. We can succeed if we remem-ber the principles that made Switzerland strong in the past: respect for minorities, equality and the will to cooperate come what may.

Do you believe that your decision regarding the 1 August celebrations on the Rütli will have a lasting effect?

I hope that I have made people more aware of the importance of our basic rights. The right to congregate and freedom of speech and expression are cornerstones of our de-mocracy. We must work to preserve them, even if it would sometimes be easier not to exercise such rights. Issues such as these must not be avoided.

Public opinion polls show that you are one of the most popular members of the government. What do you attribute this to?

Perhaps I receive a lot of recognition and approval specifi cally because I don’t set out to do well in the opinion polls. I don’t mince my words, I do what I consider to be right, and I put all my effort into my work.

What are your most important aims and desires for the coming year?

The foreign minister has to defend Swiss interests abroad. My aim remains to do this as best I can. As a neutral country without any dreams of grandeur or alli-ances to cater to, we enjoy a very credible reputation in-ternationally. But we are not alone. We must be heard, seek cooperation with like-minded peoples, and be ac-tive. We mustn’t sit back in the hope that the rest of the world will always see us as a shining example, nor should we hide our light under a bushel.

In what areas should Switzerland get more involved?

In promoting peace because it is in keep-ing with our tradition as a neutral country. I also think that we should increase our share of public development aid, where we lag be-hind considerably. I say this not only for mor-alistic reasons: I believe that we have a duty to assist people in need, in war-torn areas or in poverty. It is also good for promoting our interests. Greater involvement in peacekeep-ing and tackling poverty would mean less in-stability and fewer crises and therefore less heartache for everyone, Switzerland in-cluded: fewer refugees fl ooding into our country and elsewhere and better opportu-nities for our companies. That is in Switzer-land’s interests.

Do you have any special requests of the Swiss abroad?

I hope that our fellow citizens living abroad recognise that an active, credible Switzerland can also be in their interests. And I hope that the Swiss abroad will continue to help shape our country.

Micheline Calmy-Rey with National Council President Christine Egerszegi on the Rütli.

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Swissair in the dock

Not guilty! Six years after Swissair went bankrupt, the most spectacular commercial trial in Switzerland’s history fi nally took place in Bülach

(ZH) from January to June 2007. The 19 defendants, in-cluding several former execu-tives of the airline, were cleared and received compen-sation, as much as half a mil-lion Swiss francs in the case of Mario Corti. Former employ-ees and creditors were furious at the outcome, saying justice had not been done. Zurich’s public prosecutor appealed, but then withdrew the appeal in September. By contrast, the canton of Neuchâtel and the Belgian state are still pursuing their appeals against the ac-quittal of Mario Corti, Swis-sair’s last CEO. The supreme court of the canton of Zurich will now probably have to rule on the affair.

From Switzerland with love

Marc Forster, Grisons’s most famous export to Hollywood, will direct the 22nd James Bond fi lm. But will the 38-year-old director of “Finding Never-land” (starring Johnny Depp) shoot it in his home country? Film Location, a company that promotes shooting locations in Switzerland, has suggested sev-eral to Forster, including Lu-cerne. In June, the cinematog-rapher said the Alps would make the perfect setting for a 007 movie. What luck! World premiere: 7 November 2008.

Flooding in August

Torrential rain on 7–10 August led to fl ooding, swollen rivers and landslides throughout Switzerland. Hundreds of people had to be evacuated.

The towns of Delémont (JU) and Lyss (BE) were inundated, the Berne-Fribourg and Neuchâtel-Bi-enne railway lines were left underwater, while Lake

Bienne reached the record level of 430.90 metres, a full 47 centimetres above the danger mark. Initial estimates put the cost of the damage at about CHF 500 million. The Swiss Meteorological Offi ce said Switzerland had as much rain over the three days as is usually recorded during the entire month of August.

Record-breaker and living

legend

Roger Federer smashed yet more tennis records in 2007. In February, after 161 weeks at the top of the ATP world rankings, he beat the long-standing record of Jimmy Connors from 1974 to 1977. In winning his fi fth consecu-tive Wimbledon title, Federer equalled Bjorn Borg’s record (1976-80). And with 12 grand slam titles to his name, the Swiss tennis ace is now within two championships of Pete Sampras’s all-time record.

Young and poor

According to a report by the Federal Commission for Child and Youth Affairs (EKKJ), 45% of Switzerland’s welfare dependants are under 25, com-pared with 1.5% for the over-65s. Of these 100,000 poor

young people, 70% haven’t even completed vocational training. The EKKJ also noted rising debt levels among young people.

Alinghi sails to second victory

This summer, Ernesto Bertarelli’s Team Alinghi beat Team New Zealand to win the 32nd America’s Cup in Valencia, Spain. It was a his-toric double following Aling-hi’s win in New Zealand in 2003. American rivals BMW Oracle have since sued Alinghi over competition rules they

say favour the Swiss. The legal wrangling could jeopardise the next America’s Cup, due to take place in Valencia in 2009.

Lötschberg toasted

Offi cially opened on 15 June 2007 after eight years of drill-ing through the Alps, the Lötschberg tunnel came into operation in September. Almost 200 trains a day now pass through it. The world’s third-longest tunnel (34.6km) has cut about an hour off travel times between Berne and the Valais.

Drama on the Jungfrau

In July, six French-Swiss sol-diers lost their lives in an ava-lanche on the Jungfrau. The recruits, who were in their 17th week of military training, were apparently killed when one of them slipped, dragging the rest down with him. A mil-itary tribunal is investigating

the affair. Two mountain guides are charged with “mul-tiple negligent homicide”.

Stubbing out smoking

A ban on smoking in public places and at work, which has been in force in Ticino since April and is due to be intro-duced in the canton of Solo-thurn from 2009, looks like becoming law throughout the country in the next few years. The National Council agreed to the ban in principle in Oc-tober.

Land of

immigration

Switzerland is currently home to 1.542 million foreigners (20.6% of the total popula-tion), of whom 933,000 are from European

Union and EFTA member states. The Freedom of Movement Agreement with the EU has also had an effect on the composition of the foreign population: the number of EU nationals has risen by 3.2%.

Swiss franc slides

The Swiss franc continues to lose ground against the euro. This year it reached an his-toric low of CHF 1.6729 to the euro. The Swiss currency has fallen steadily in value ever since late 2001, when a euro only cost CHF 1.45!

Lavaux named UNESCO

Heritage Site

Just like the prestigious wine-growing area of Saint Emilion in France, the Lavaux region of Switzerland and its terraced vineyards have now been added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites. AL AIN WEY

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